Writer, Dabbler In Things
I’ve said again and again that I’ve always had a bad memory. It may even be getting a bit worse in my now middle-age. And I can’t imagine it will improve as I get older. I remember many things from my childhood and teenaged years, a childhood fear here, a fun date night there, the … Read more
As of this writing, I have five active email addresses. That I can recall. There are quite possibly more I’m not remembering at the moment.That’s a lot. It’s entirely too many.The thing is, I didn’t mean for that to happen, the list just kind of naturally grew as things changed and came up.Now I’m trying … Read more
I have a weird name. For those outside my family and group of friends who haven’t known me forever, the first one is pronounced “Ray” and the family name rhymes with “Yes person” (in fact, that’ll just help you pronounce it the way it would be in its native Denmark, and other Nordic countries). But … Read more
Everyone has their opinions. And everyone has counterpoints to certain topics of discussion. That is of course a given. But here’s a hot tip: If you’re going to share those, first make sure they at least convey what you’re trying to say and don’t inadvertently make you look bad. I recently mentioned that my union … Read more
Bruce Schneier is a long-time digital and technology privacy advocate who’s written some of the most important and influential books on those and related subjects. He posted this brief article yesterday, nicely summarizing the grey area issue surrounding what constitutes fair use of material readily available to the public vs. what people should have to … Read more
I’ve mentioned before that there are various things that will bump me from enjoyment of a book. Sometimes it’s plain bad writing. The advent of self-publishing has been a boon for anyone who has ever thought they want to write a book, because now they can produce one from their laptops and it will instantly … Read more
Years prior to the pandemic, I had noticed a trend that was slowly but clearly getting worse, and it has ramped up even harder through these Covid years: People appearing to answer questions, but not addressing the main points. I’ve asked around and know I’m not the only one experiencing it. People in different positions, … Read more
Hearing my eleven-year-old on a phone call is equal parts cringe-worthy and hilarious. You’ll note I said “call”. Not a Zoom or FaceTime or text thread, but an old-school phone call, where you dial up someone’s number and only talk to them. Kids–strike that, anyone under 25–ask your parents about what “phone calls” are. It … Read more
I recently read this (short!) post advising–with good reason–that people should write shorter stuff but more often. It struck a chord with me. I do, as I’m sometimes reminded (usually by my wife and daughter) tend to over-verbalize/over-write things. My wife sometimes tells me that when someone asks what time it is I tell them … Read more
There are times I’m struck by unexpectedly gorgeous art, be it a photograph or illustration or painting, as well as other arts, like writing. I’m not sure who initially took this photo–I saw it on Mastodon and it seems to have initially come from making rounds on Twitter–so I unfortunately can’t give credit where it’s … Read more